Brdiczka, O. et al. “Automatic detection of interaction groups”, Proc. ICMI, Oct. 4-6, 2005 discloses an approach for detecting interaction group configurations based on the assumption that conversational turn-taking is synchronized inside groups. The detector is based on a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) constructed upon conversational hypotheses. The input of the detector is a speech activity vector containing the information which individual is speaking or not. The synchronization of speech contributions within a group enables the detection of possible group configurations by an HMM built upon conversational hypotheses.
A problem of the known system is that it is not suitable for controlling the operation of a device. The detection of a change in group configuration occurs after the fact, and such detection is of only limited use as an input on which to base a control stratagem. Its primary use is to update contact lists of users.